Summer Collegiate

NorthPaws Name Francis Head Coach

Published

3 years ago

March 31, 2023

Dugout Wire Service

KAMLOOPS, BC—The Kamloops NorthPaws didn’t have to look far when searching for their newest head coach.
Original article written by Larry Read.

Just days after learning that Brian Anderson had taken a job with NCAA Div I Northwestern University (Illinois), The NorthPaws have named Keith Francis as the third head coach in the teams history.

Francis and Anderson have been working with the Pima Community College Aztecs (National Junior College Athletics Association) in Arizona. Both were looking to come north to Kamloops for the Westcoast League season in early June. Francis had committed to being Anderson’s assistant. He was Anderson’s coach in high school.

“I am looking forward to the coming season,” he says. “My teams are aggressive and play the right way. I never play the other team. If you play the game and play the right way, usually good things come your way. It’s my intent for the NorthPaws to play that way too.”

Francis is currently the assistant coach with Pima. A number of the players on Aztecs roster had been recruited by Anderson to play this summer for the NorthPaws already.

“It will make the job easier (familiarity with the players),” he says. “I will continue to implement a lot of things that we have here. I know those players’ strong points and weak points. We have a couple of pitchers coming up which will be very important. “

The newest NorthPaws skipper has a solid baseball background. His resume includes coaching at Maple Woods Community College (1997-1998), third place in the 1998 Junior College World Series at Grand Junction, CO. Canyon del Oro High School (2000), Assistant Coach, CDO won the 5A State Championship. Canyon del Oro High School (2001-2004), Head Coach, CDO won the 5A State Championship in 2002. Pima Community College (2005-2006), Assistant Coach.

In addition, he was an assistant coach at the University of Arizona (2007-2010) where they made Regionals three of the four years and made it to the Super Regionals in 2008 where they lost to the University of Miami.

“We are going to approach the West Coast League aggressively,” Francis adds. “We will steal a lot of bases, do a lot of hit and runs. That is West Coast baseball. That is the way we will play.”

Francis is looking forward to coaching players that he normally doesn’t see from the West Coast of North America.

‘I can’t wait to get there (to Kamloops) and see the fan base and meet them,” he adds. “As a player having fans behind you makes it fun to come to the ballpark.”

NorthPaws co-owner Norm Daley says, ““We’re really excited to be able to move on so quickly with Keith’s hire. We know that Keith has a wealth of experience and a great knowledge of players and are looking forward to another great NorthPaws season.”

Francis hopes to be in Kamloops at the end of May or early June. His arrival depends on how deep his Pima team goes in the National College World Series. They are currently ranked in the top 20 and have won 14 games in a row.

In the meantime, he will be reaching out to players who have already committed to the NorthPaws this summer and will be securing at least one assistant coach.

The North Paws went 26-27 in their inaugural West Coast League season (2022) under head coach Cole Armstrong. They wound up third in the North Division. Kamloops opens up their 2023 season Tuesday June 2nd in Victoria against the Harbour Cats. Their home opener at Dearborn Ford Field at Norbrock Stadium is Tuesday June 6th when the Portland Pickles come to town.

Ticket information and the complete schedule is available on the NorthPaws website: www.northpawsbaseball.ca.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Offence Erupts Early in 15-5 Win

Published

16 hours ago

June 22, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

David Krahn’s two-homer ballgame led the way for an offensive clinic. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Port Angeles, WA – The HarbourCats closed out the Port Angeles series in style on a sunny Sunday afternoon, racking up 17 hits in a 15-5 victory.

David Krahn (UBC) took it upon himself to spark the offence early in this one, blasting a leadoff rocket to make it 1-0 Cats in the top of the first.

BOX SCORE

The Lefties responded quickly, dropping a perfectly placed line drive into left field to bring in the tying run in the bottom of the first. Port Angeles threatened with more runners in scoring position, but an unassisted double play by David Krahn kept the game even at one.

Cats outfielder Max Bernal (Fresno Pacific) knocked a double into the gap in the next inning to push Dryden Fuoco (Hill College) up to third base. David Krahn came in clutch once again in his second trip to the plate, driving in Fuoco to snatch the lead back for Victoria. The second-inning offence wouldn’t end there for the Cats, as Matt Westley (George Mason) and Brady Hewitt (Fresno State) both singled to widen the lead to 5-1 by the end of the frame.

Matt Westley was 2/4 this afternoon with a double and 3 RBI. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Victoria didn’t let up after gaining the lead, putting some ducks on the pond in the top of the third inning for, you guessed it, David Krahn. The Langley, B.C. product pulverized his second homer of the game to further extend the lead to 8-1. The hits just kept coming in the third frame, and suddenly Victoria was up 12-1.

A bruised Lefties lineup managed to throw a counter-punch in the bottom of the third, uncorking two leadoff home runs to dead centre. A valiant effort, but the home side had a lot of work to do if they were to erase a 12-3 deficit.

The Cats kept their foot on the gas, loading the bases in the top of the fifth and bringing home a pair of runs on hits by Matt Westley and Brady Hewitt. Austin Lindsey (Hill College) came in to pitch for the bottom of the fifth, relieving Jeremiah Arnett (Rice) who allowed three runs on four hits over four innings.

Spencer Kratt (San Jose State) took over on the heels of two spotless no-hit innings from Lindsey, before Anson Stuckly (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) closed it out in the ninth with two strikeouts.

Port Angeles managed to scrape together a comeback attempt in the later innings, but Victoria’s mountainous lead stayed intact for a 15-5 win.

WCL STANDINGS

With the road trip complete, the Cats will come back to Victoria to take on the Nanaimo NightOwls at 6:30 pm on Tuesday night.

Single game tickets for all HarbourCats games and the 2026 West Coast League All-Star Game and Home Run Derby are now on sale at http://harbourcats.com/tickets. Season tickets, 12-pack and 32-pack game vouchers may also be bought online or by stopping by the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street.

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Lefties Take Game Two in Extra Innings

Published

2 days ago

June 20, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Port Angeles, WA – The Port Angeles Lefties eked out a win in an extra innings nail-biter, walking it off for an 8-7 victory,

It didn’t take long for the HarbourCats to follow up on last night’s win. Jacob Silva (UTSA) stepped into the box and crushed an RBI double to take an early lead in the top of the first.

BOX SCORE

The Lefties responded in a big way in the bottom of the second, taking advantage of hard contact and a HarbourCats error to set the stage for a three-run homer. This ended a short start for Bryson Toner (Hawaii), giving way to Daniel Tovar (Northern Kentucky) to finish the second inning down 5-1.

Lightning struck twice in the fourth inning for the HarbourCats. Brady Hewitt (Fresno State) crushed his team-leading third homer of the year, followed up by Renton, Washington’s Rohne Klein (San Jose State) sending one well over the fence as well. With two home runs in just one inning, the Cats were suddenly right back in this game.

Brady Hewitt let one fly tonight for his third homer of the season. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Momentum continued for the Cats in their next trip to the plate. David Krahn (UBC) found a gap and hustled his way to a leadoff double before returning home on a Matt Westley (George Mason) base hit later in the inning. Kade Davis (UTSA) would eventually be the man to take back the lead for Victoria, as he came through with a 2-RBI double down the right field line to push the score to 6-5 in favour of the HarbourCats.

The home team was determined not to let this outburst slide, solving Daniel Tovar for the first time and tying the game at six. Tovar exited the game after a strong outing on the bump, going 3.1 innings with two hits, one run, and three strikeouts.

Jack Clark (CSU San Marcos) was rock-solid in a four-inning relief appearance in which he gave up only one hit. The score remained deadlocked all the way until extra innings, when Rohne Klein earned a sacrifice fly to take a narrow 7-6 lead in the top of the tenth frame. The Lefties struck back once again in the bottom of the inning, laying a bunt down to move the runners over and walking it off to force a rubber match on Sunday.

WCL STANDINGS

The third and final match of the series takes place on Sunday afternoon at 1:30 pm, after which the Cats will return to Victoria to face the Nanaimo NightOwls at 6:30 pm on Tuesday night.

Source

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – 5-1 Win Secured in Port Angeles

Published

2 days ago

June 20, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Victoria threw strikes and claimed a decisive win to begin the series.

Port Angeles, WA – The HarbourCats opened up the road series in Port Angeles on Friday night, taking a 5-1 win on the back of some excellent pitching performances.

BOX SCORE

The first outburst of the ballgame belonged to the HarbourCats this evening, doing some serious damage in the third inning. The first of three runs came on an infield single by Tristan Buehring (Whitman) to drive in Dryden Fuoco (Hill College), followed by a 2-RBI double hammered by Logan Shepherd (Mercer).

Right-hander Erik Rico (Fresno State) was back on the bump to start the game for the Cats in his fourth appearance of a sensational season thus far. It was business as usual in this outing for the Fresno State flamethrower, piling up a tidy eight strikeouts over the course of four innings and still refusing to give up a run all season.

Victoria added to their lead in the top of the fifth. Designated hitter Logan Shepherd earned a walk, stole a bag, and blazed his way around third to score on a two-bagger down the line from third baseman Matt Westley (George Mason).

Another arm was required for the Cats in the wake of Rico, and from the bullpen emerged Easton Reimers (North Dakota State). The Missoula, Montana native gave up a two-out solo blast in his first inning of work, but Victoria answered with another run the very next frame. Rohne Klein (San Jose State) showed off some heads-up baserunning and ended up coming around to score on a groundout in the top of the sixth to push the score to 5-1.

Reimers buckled down for the bottom of inning number six, setting down the side in order with a pair of strikeouts and finding his groove to pitch through two innings without giving up another run. Houston Tomlinson (Arkansas State) filled in for the eighth before giving way to Hudson Lance (Coastal Carolina), who closed out the win for Victoria in the series opener.

WCL STANDINGS

The Cats will play two more contests against the Lefties this weekend and then return home to take on the Nanaimo NightOwls at 6:30 pm on Tuesday evening.

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